Broken Fingaz

Utopian Collective

-  Doug Gillen

Since the early 2000s, the collective Broken Fingaz has been using public space to craft their own instantly unique and recognizable universe. Blending illegal ephemeral actions with large-scale commissioned murals, they forged their own path on a road that has become increasingly traveled. Originating from the northern Israeli city of Haifa, their work offers both reflections and escape from a region fraught with social and political tension.

To understand the worlds that they create and the chaos often depicted in their hyper-graphic, visually arresting work, it’s helpful to understand the context in which Broken Fingaz was formed. We sat down with members Unga and Tant during a trip to Belgium this past spring (with help from Deso who had to take off before the interview was conducted) as they painted for the Crystal Ship Festival. The two created a picture of life on the fringe and the formation of one of the most energized crews to emerge from street art culture.

Doug Gillen: Help me out here. Officially and currently, Broken Fingaz is three or four?

Unga: Three is the core: active, working together. The fourth one is just really doing music the last few years. So he’s still a good friend and we talk together about ideas sometimes, but there are three who are actually painting.

Unga, I know that you’ve been based in London. Do you still maintain a base in Haifa? Do you go back often?

Unga: Yeah, I’ve just been there. Tant used to live in Tel Aviv and he just moved back to Haifa. Deso was in Mexico for two years so we moved around but we always come back to Haifa. That’s the headquarters.